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isagrimorie · 1 year

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[initial reactions] Critical Role: Bells Hells episode 49

That was such a good episode, I know that the characters were stressed being on board the sky ship, eating up time as the Apogee Solstice creeps ever forward but it was such a great moment for the characters to unwind a bit and talk. I always love their planning stuff despite how many people gripe about it on the chat and reddit, I love their thought process and the way they try to mitigate the damage they do.

I already love Laudna but IMO she was in fine form this episode, finally cracking Ashton open and getting that long awaited talk out of the way. I can see why the dynamic of Keyleth and Percy work so well in C1 and I wish its something they can show more in the animated series. *crossing fingers for season 3 of TLOVM!

It does feel like its a dynamic Taliesin and Marisha want to recreate in a different flavor with Ashton and Laudna, and they're doing so successfully. I love how Ashton and Laudna talk, and call each other's bullshit out but this episode especially, Laudna is showing off the wisdom she learned in 30 hard earned years she's lived.

Orym's also successfully reaching out to people with Dorian and I love how we're getting hints of things in EXU Prime that in their end, things are also very dicey. Opal getting dark???

I am so into that and Fearne's immediate concern is apparent. But also, Marisha knowing the details of the EXU Prime plot is so juicy!

The gang accomplished so much recruiting Ira, finally telling some more people in authority or approximate authority about how dire the situations are. Telling Pike, even though she can't do things, maybe? Possibly? Apparently, things on Tal'dorei are also very dicey, so Whitestone might have its own problems with the Ziggurat.

I'm going to heap more praise towards Laudna because of the interrogative sort of femme fatale honey pot play she did with Ira, getting Ira to talk more about it, tagged teamed with Fearne at the end.

Speaking of, Fearne is very much still ambivalent towards her parents, sure she's nice to them but as she told Nana Morri, her parents feel more like strangers than people related to her.

Also, Thank Goodness, the team's finally equipped but I need Dani to remind the cast that they still have residuum and the bracers of defense!

I feel like there's gonna be some Mad Max shenanigans that's going to happen on the Apogee Solstice, and its going to be heart pounding and epic and so great.

FCG also learned some things about himself, about how he is not alone and Devaxian also stressed how from this point on he is gifted with a chance to own his own future. A future of his own making. (A theme that will be repeated a lot!).

And then there's that moment when Imogen meets with Liliana again and, and, and I am VINDICATED!!! LILIANA IS A TRUE BELIEVER. She might even be Ludinus's real right hand and not Otohan which would be DELICIOUS.

I love that Liliana tried to get Imogen on her side and Imogen genuinely considered it because the vision she painted was tempting, for someone like Imogen who was tormented by her powers that's a siren call.

But of course, Fearne and Orym was around in the dream and they played it as silent observers instead of actively interacting with the dream space like how the others did it. It does feel like Fearne and Orym are still at heart, a unit. In a similar but different way to Laudna and Imogen. I love the talk they had about Imogen, about the possibility of Imogen turning because of her mother. Orym and Fearne will do what's necessary to stop things from happening and it's really fascinating how that will go.

Laura's face was interesting the whole time too.

And then, and then just when the group thinks its hopeless they get a possible help and distraction of the big army with Keyleth coming in, sounding exhausted and heart sick but still willing to help to put Ashari volunteers to help. I hope the group remembers to warn Keyleth about the antimagic that's going to happen.

I feel like Keyleth and the Air Ashari can act as distraction while the Bells Hells, as a strike team can go and take down the Malleus Key. Everyone in the cast looked happy at this development, except for Marisha who looked worried and had her Thinking Face on.

Near the end, Imogen talks to Orym and asked how he can go on after everyone he lost and they have a heartfelt talk. Orym tells Imogen that he believes in her but Imogen is not convinced but doesn't try to read his mind to know if this is true. Instead, at long last, after many episodes.

Imogen goes back to the room she shares with Laudna and finally talks to her. Whatever impetus it was: her fear, uncertainty, or the realization that she shares some similarities with her father and that's the reluctance to talk.

Laudna asks if Imogen is okay, and automatically, Imogen answers she is. Laudna gently tells Imogen she didn't need to lie to Laudna about 'being fine'. And so Imogen opens the conversation with admitting that she's been afraid of really talking to Laudna after she was resurrected, that she had something to tell Laudna.

Laudna asks Imogen what it is she wanted to say but Imogen hesitates and then says something about her fear and god I love how Laudna approached her talk with Imogen. I love that Laudna went about it with understanding because, of course, who more than Laudna hasn't thought what would have happened if life had been different.

Laudna had thirty years to think similar thoughts, to wish a different life than the one she had. She candidly told Ashton she made Patê so she won't lose her mind wandering alone.

But through everything Laudna lived through she is very cognizant too the reason she met Imogen and the other Bells Hells was because of who she is and became. And I think Marisha has her answer to Aabria's question from the 4 Sided Dive a long time ago -- there is a part of her that is a little grateful for Delilah or whatever patron that made her a Hollow One, that she has this powers now and ability to be spooky. Things she enjoys.

It's a little messed up and complicated.

I also love that while Laudna didn't hear Imogen's promise about how Laudna will always have a choice, Laudna unknowingly echoed back Imogen's words. Imogen has a choice. She will always have a choice and having the ability to choose is a power all its own. Its not something gods can take away.

Honestly, I love how Laudna is talking to Imogen from a place of understanding and I think more than anything, this helped Imogen solidify her grasp of why they're fighting. It's not just because its wrong and kill other people. All morally right reasons why they need to stop Ludinus and his group.

It's because every individual deserves a right to choose. And that love also means loving every part of a person, especially the weird parts of them.

Imogen might have lost her nerve to tell Laudna she loved her, loved her, romantic stylez and Laudna might slowly be waking into the part of herself that can access it. But its plain as day they love each other and I'm okay to wait on how long and slow this will cook, but also saying things like:

"I feel so comfortable and bonded with you. We transcend words in our relationship.

"You'll always have me."

"I'll always be there to support you whatever choice you make.

"You're my tether."

"That tether goes beyond this realm and this life."

C'MON. Those words are my ship Kryptonite! If I hadn't already shipped them, this would have definitely tip the scales! And I feel very well fed tonight!

God I love them. I love the Bells Hells.

#critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #critical role #critical role c3 spoilers #bells hells #imogen temult #laudna #fearne calloway #orym of the air ashari #ashton greymoore #chetney pock o’pea #ship: laudna x imogen #ship: imogen x laudna #ship: southern gothic #imodna #southern gothic #cr 3x49 #long post

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vespertinebluebells · 9 months

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learning that marisha was genuinely intending for laudna to be "unromanceable", meaning that all of the subtext i'd been picking up on that laudna seemed genuinely uninterested in romance and sex at best and uncomfortable at worst, was actually like, intentional? is genuinely something i'm kinda devastated about. i am filled with a strange ache every time i look at the CR tags right now, because while i understand people are excited, i'm incredibly disappointed. i was fully and completely prepared to eventually hit a point where something happened and it was confirmed in canon that i was reading too far into reactions and comments and laudna was actually interested the whole time, etc. but to have romance happen, only to immediately be confronted with the fact that no, actually, laudna being uninterested in romance was marisha's intention until this moment... it's gut-wrenching. before anyone says anything, obviously marisha is fine with this change of course, laura gave her a chance to say no, they would discuss if it was an issue, etc. yeah, i know. if the people involved are happy with this outcome that is what matters at the end of the day. and now people are celebrating, but more importantly they're saying things. they're talking about how it's crazy marisha didn't see this coming. that imogen and laudna have obviously been dating since the first episode, how could you not see it? how could anyone not see they were interested in each other?? AND IT'S WRONG! we got given explicit confirmation that at no point up until the kiss was laduna being played as interested in imogen! they weren't dating and laudna certainly wasn't secretly pining! she's basically been being played aroace the whole campaign! and it's fucking gross and amatonormative as fuck to be proclaiming that their behaviour up until now means they never could've been anything but romantically interested in each other. the trope in media and fanfiction (and the behavior in real life) where people proclaim the fact that "obviously, these characters/people are actually in love and basically dating but they just don't know it lmao" has long grated on me, because at the end of the day the only people whose definition of the relationship matters is those involved. it doesn't matter if it looks romantic to you if the people or characters involved say it isnt, even if that changes later! they still weren't dating until it was actually decided that's what they wanted to do! so sure! they're now romantically involved, and obviously people are going to celebrate that. but please stop making comments about how "they've been dating this whole time". they weren't! that wasn't the title that they gave their relationship! and while imogen has clearly been interested for a while, we know that laudna (until retcon says otherwise) was not! i don't know where their relationship will progress from here and i'm not going to let this lessen my enjoyment of the show or characters. but i am going to mourn the fact that people are celebrating this and praising laura for "winning" and getting the romance when it came at the cost of marisha's original intent for laudna to be aroace (at the very least in behavior if not by name)

#i'm in no way saying that you can't be excited about this ultimately being the outcome #or enjoy the ship now that it's canon #i simply am hoping and asking that people consider how they discuss this even a little bit more #critical role #cr #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #cr 65 spoilers #cr 65 #cr laudna #aroace laudna #imodna

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ludinusdaleth · 10 months

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on a similar note, i do think that there's a lot of people that are just outright evil towards the female characters moreso in this campaign than ever before, with people literally demonizing imogen for so much as breathing in laudna's direction as being an evil, toxic, heartless abuser and "worse than delilah". and people notably didn't care at all about ashton until they realized they could ship them with laudna and further make out imogen to be a monster.

i cant say that this is the worst it's been, historically. the way keyleth/marisha was treated for years was probably the most notable, gruesome, & well known example of misogyny in the fanbase, something that affected marisha ray personally and still does - iirc, part of beau directly spun from her willingness to spite her detractors. many a reddit incel would not shut up about every detail of marisha's rp as the druid. i appreciate that cr responded to that over the years narratively as spitefully as possible.

but, yeah, i think, especially on tumblr, there are some odd attitudes at work. imogen, fearne, & deanna are taking the full brunts of it -

deanna is called evil or disappointing for not being a shining cleric of holy goodness praising the gods bluntly to the screen, and is dehumanized by fans by being put into the mammy stereotype whenever she talks to imogen, even when her plotline is literally centered on realizing she's more than a nurturer (and aabria has liked my tweets on this subject, so maybe, we can assume she shares bitterness at this?). almost no one ever wants to acknowledge her beyond the trait of being motherly, or being lovers with chetney, and dont get me started on how people said she was feral because she killed a goat and made imogen cry?

fearne is treated as a ditzy kooky bimbo fae, with many people ive seen refusing to acknowledge any of her character development - folk get angry when ive mentioned her doing anything, saying shes just a selfish bitch and only that, that she needs to be "put in her place" by any character witnessing her mischief.

and for imogen - i know people dont want to woobify her, but in the process, holy fuck does cr tumblr become judgemental. i have seen, verbatim: "sorry she isnt your girlboss and her actions will hurt others when she turns evil", said pre-solstice, and then, she wasnt. her tendency toward her darker powers and her considering ludinus's pov (yknow. like many a protagonist tries to see the antagonist's pov. thats normal in narratives) because her mother joined him has damned her into the fandom thinking she's a beast to be put down. frankly, even if she did turn evil? id support that narratively, that's fantastic. but she didn't and there is a smugness to the fact that she is now the most clear headed against ludinus when people were sure she would turn, and wanted blood on that assumption.

as for ashton, yeah. i.... have a lot of thoughts on how fandom treats them - they definitely were treaded around til shipping began and only then they were considered palateable, and then were noticeably only called he/him pronouns by the terfs of the marisha/laura-ship brigade. if im being honest, i have not seen them directly used against imogen, and i dont think im the person to discuss imodna or shipping wars with you. but i do think every other bells member is utilized as some kind of cudgel against her (namely, in my experience, orym). to this fanbase, imogen is not allowed to have her traumas in the literal face of ruidis, the source of it.

i know this harsh simpleminded view on the ladies of cr has always existed. i could go into it in every campaign thoroughly. but i do think c3 is unique in how tumblr is treating it. do you know how badly you have to screw up for cr twitter to be calmer & more rational on the topic of women existing in a narrative?

#van speaks #asks #long post #critical role #campaign 3 #misogynoir #misogyny #racism #deanna leimert #imogen temult #fearne calloway #ashton greymoore #transphobia #critical role meta

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thessalian · 6 months

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Thess vs MCM Comic Con, Day 2

So today was the day. It was, I will admit, a very hard day, but it was A Day nonetheless.

Obviously, Comic Con was fun, despite ... well, public transport, home plumbing woes, whole bunches of nonsense and it just being Saturday at one of the UK's biggest conventions when you are less than mobile because of having a fucking cane. Still. Fun.

So, yeah, the usual public transport malarkey happened and when we arrived at the Excel Centre ... well, it turned out that their provisions for those requiring accessibility assistance were ... lacking. Or, to be less kind, an utter shit-show. We were crammed behind the main queues with a stall maybe four feet from our backs, with people trying to a) walk to some other part of the convention hall, or b) join a regular queue. But they finally figured out that this was actively stupid, and they moved us towards the rear, where we could kind of slip into the back one at a time after every two of the people in the regular queue had got their autographs. And there were some chairs. And good conversation. And Marion bonded with somebody over Fruits Basket. And that helped the fact that I was in a fair amount of pain and feeling very squished. Then again, it kept me from feeling any "I am meeting people I very much admire" anxiety too much.

Finally, my turn came. Matt Mercer came first, and he was an utter sweetheart who was actually really impressed by the couple of bits of my campaign that came up in conversation. (I think he was also probably slightly chuffed that I got inspired by some of his things and did something unique and interesting with them.) And @fauxfire76 got a specific shout-out because the Bunny-Bard story came out and he did seem to like how we handled it all, players and DM both. Plus he was really touched by the fact that them having people Skype in was what made me realise I could play with my dearest friends online. (And also being responsible for me meeting one of my players, and thus dearest friends.) Also, nearly forgot - he was well chuffed at what I brought for them to sign - the original Green Ronin version of the Tal'dorei Campaign Setting. I saw other people bringing sourcebooks but I think I'm the only one who brought that one. I thought it might be nice for them to see a) how far they've come and b) that we've been there since the beginning, frankly. It seems to have worked.

Little less conversation with Marisha, but I very much praised her acting / RP in Sagas of Sundry: Madness. I really do need to watch that again.

Laura, I praised her singing voice and we talked about Stray Gods (which will have to move back to the top of the Steam wish list). She was really sweet (and, later on in the photos, gave me a side-hug. It was really kind of her, given she could probably see I was struggling by then.)

Travis ... I don't think anyone's called him an "avatar of positive masculinity" to his face before, but he was really ... somewhere between flattered and touched, I think. That feels like that "someone lit up his face from the inside" expression's best description, anyway. Also we may have mentioned how good a job he and Laura seem to be doing with raising Ronin, because so many parents have doubts as to how they're doing and it's nice to hear that kind of validation.

Ashley ... equally touched by being responsible, through her Skype presence in Campaign 1, for the group I value so much today ... and also for having been company for a much younger me who had TV sitcoms for company, and thus having seen a lot of Littie!Ashley.

Sam ... Sam I saw on Broadway, so that came up. My accent came up (he was one of the few who flagged up that I in no way sound like I'm from the UK), and I mentioned having lived in New Jersey, and that @hyperewok1 lives in New Jersey, and how it was interesting that @hyperewok1 and Liam both lived in New Jersey and both played Oath of Vengeance Paladins to some degree. And together we came up with, "New Jersey breeds vengeance".

Which I then told Liam, which also got a laugh. As did my remembering about him in Dragon Age: Origins and his being various voices in Guild Wars 2, particularly this one crafting vendor who would say something every time you walked past him and my general response to any time I hear Liam's voice being a casual, out loud, "Hi, Liam!" Which I said a lot when I was playing Guild Wars 2, I can tell you.

And I was just about to get to Taliesin ... and then one of the stewards, who'd been helping me along the whole time, said that they were breaking for lunch and the photo ops, and she was really sorry, but I'd have to wait for the Talisein autograph. But I should go straight to the back area when the afternoon set came and I'd be let straight in. Okay, fine, that gave us time to find some food and a sit-down before photos.

Photos ... thankfully it was a little easier with the accessibility stuff that time, but the first photo (which was probably the better one) got nixed because of flash glare on our glasses. We didn't even get the option to see that photo - just got sent back for a second one, with head tilted down, which ... I did not need that much displayed double chin, thank you very fucking much. I'd rather have the lens flare. I can live with being in a JJ Abrams film. Anyway, the picture exists but I dislike it a lot. Marion looks great, though.

Anyway, after some cooldown time, and a bit of shopping wherein I found some dice that fit an Alisaie sort of theme (to go with the Scanlan-themed ones I got mostly because Purple and Bard), back to the autograph session. The very American woman helping out was in conversation with I think friends of hers and kind of didn't notice me there, so I spoke to a security guard and mentioned what happened at the morning session and he went back to get her. She came back looking hugely apologetic going, "Were you just there the whole time and I just ignored you? I am so sorry!" I told her it was fine and explained and she said, "Well, you've obviously been through it today so I'm going to just bring you straight in there because ... it's not protocol, but fuck it." Unfortunately, Taliesin was a bit behind schedule joining the others for the autographs (maybe an individual photo session ran long, maybe he was waiting for meds to kick in, all of the above, who knows? We just hoped he was okay), so she put me right at the front of the accessibility queue and even pulled over a chair so I could sit down. So we sat and watched the cosplay go by, had a nice conversation with some other people in the queue, and watched Felicia Day smack a cosplay Pike with a LARP mace. As you do.

Eventually, Taliesin turned up, looked really flustered, so we were just calling out, "It's okay! Take a minute!" So he did, and eventually he got started and I demonstrated my ability to be very fucking organised. I had my QR code out and ready, I still had my original Post-it with the name I wanted used (Thess, I used, because, as I told most of them, "Everyone I like calls me Thess"), and so when the steward looked at me, I just handed him my phone, opened my Tal'dorei guide to the right place and said, "That's the Post-it; I'm all set". I did that a couple of times over the course of the autographs and in both cases I got stares and, "...thank yooooooou..." It was a hard day for the poor sods. Most of them aren't even getting paid for this.

So then I got Taliesin's autograph. He's the only one who pronounced "Thess" properly (a lot of them didn't pronounce the H), and that got mentioned, and he asked where it was from (so Marion got in on the conversation because he asked if it was a Welsh name, and Marion's Welsh, so...) and I told him the Thancred / Therapy story and when I shook his hand, he did the "take hand in both his" thing (Matt did that too) and it was great.

And then Marion asked if I wanted to go home and I said "YES" with the passion of a thousand burning suns. Because as fun as it all was, I was stressed and in SO MUCH PAIN and very tired. And so we are now home after the usual absolute horror of public transport when tired, sore, and fed up.

But one more thing that put an added bit of sparkle to the evening. We were walking towards the door of the block of flats, and some people I don't honestly remember having seen had just come up from the block of flats and one of them stopped me and went, "Hey! We're wearing the same shirt!" And we were - the "Don't Forget To Love Each Other" one, though I'm not sure if his is the original or the second iteration. Doesn't really matter. So I asked if they were going to the MCM After-party. They said no, they couldn't get tickets to the live show so they more or less skipped it and I mentioned we'd just come from the Excel Centre and I had their autographs. From the reaction of one of the women of their little group, if I'd told them we also had a picture, her head might have exploded through sheer "impressed" and "envious". So they wished us a lovely evening and we wished them the same and so I apparently have Critters for neighbours. And I would bet money they're the ones who make the corridor smell of weed, but never mind.

So all in all, for all the OW OW OW OW OW, a good day. And now we're going to wait for takeaway curry to arrive because apparently asking me to cook was a bridge too far and I'm honestly too tired to argue with that.

#mcm expo

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captainsspnanon · 13 days

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Now that I've finished the episode, as much as I am in love with Sam for this (and I AM), I'm a bit confused by the massive praise he's getting for being so clever and remembering something that everyone forgot. Because Laura and Marisha, and i think even Ashley at one point was asking him to 'detonate' and didn't he have the ability to 'detonate'. Laura even mimed it.

Not to cheapen an incredibly dramatic, powerful, and emotional moment, and Sam deserves all the praise for his role play, his wit, and his gumption to go through with it. Just....he's not some dnd savant who miraculously remembered what everyone else forgot - not when other players were asking him about it before he even hit max stress.

#cr spoilers

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centaurianthropology · 1 year

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The Critical Role reddit is wild, man. Every now and then I check over there, and I am consistently amazed by how ... out of touch that entire community feels? I know it’s a reddit thing that no one hates a thing quite like the reddit community for that thing, but damn do they really not like CR. Most of them seem to have not liked it since, like, C1, but they keep tuning in every week for 4+ hours? It’s bananas!

There is also a definite vibe of really wanting Senpai Travis to notice them. He and Sam get rained with praise. The girls are mostly ignored, except occasionally Marisha, which I feel like might be compensation from the old days when she was the favorite punching bag. Taliesin is now the favorite punching bag. They fucking loathe him for no reason in particular, but every post praising his work is inevitably filled with people hating on him. They also seem to forget Liam exists most of the time.

They hate C3. They’re divided on C2. They love C1. They seem to think that there’s no way Imogen and Laudna are getting together because they’re Gal Pals. Even after the last episode, when it was more or less confirmed that was the direction Laura and Marisha are going with the relationship, they dismissed that and talked about when Laudna and Ashton were going to hook up, because if an even-sort-of-male-presenting person and a woman talk in depth, they have to hook up. But god forbid lesbians exist in this not-at-all-queer TTRPG show. Another apparently popular theory over there is that Matt is going to kill off the C3 characters to bring back the C1 characters for this campaign, which ... huh?

It’s like they’re watching this show, but reacting to it like it’s a 90s network television show rather than a live-play series filled with actors who are both very progressive and at least two of whom are openly queer, and all the others seem intensely supportive of that and interested in exploring their own sexualities and identities through roleplay and acting. They have this weird, warped view of the cast wherein the ‘normal’ jocky and funny men (Travis and Sam) are the obvious protagonists of the group (this is completely ignoring the actual unhinged and delightful personalities of Travis and Sam and instead slotting them into these weird stereotypes), Laura’s okay because she’s with Travis but is rarely acknowledged to be her own person, Marisha is the girl who got a glow-up (they no longer acknowledge how they treated her pre-glow-up), Liam and Ashley are ... there, and Taliesin is the weird guy that everyone else secretly hates.

They cling to C1, I think, because it’s ‘traditional’ fantasy, with clear tropes and a bunch of non-colorful, potentially straight-presenting characters (most of the characters were, in fact, bi, but most also ended up in opposite-sex relationships). Queer and ‘weird’ and ‘cringe’ characters were the least prominent in C1, so C1 to them is the best one. C2 is ‘edgy’, and C3 is ‘cringe’. And despite all this, they still watch every single week just to complain? Do they not have anything better to do? That sounds fucking miserable, but then again, maybe they’re into being miserable.

Sorry to rant, but every time I go over there I am promptly reminded of why I tell myself NOT to go there. It’s like watching the worst wildlife documentary. The Twitch comment section may be the biggest cesspool for CR, but the Reddit is the most persistent.

#Critical Role #apologies for ranting #cw: reddit #which is the first actual content warning I've used in a while #but boy howdy did it feel appropriate #some reddit communities are delightful #but this one is a pit #and apparently there's an even worse one for the folks who hated CR too much even for the main community #which #yikes #why is the CR reddit like this?#CR spoilers #minor spoilers

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cosmicgnome · 1 year

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I’m rewatching campaign 2 and it makes me so deeply angry to remember the difference in ways Marisha and Liam were treated by viewers for their commitment to their characters.

Liam’s decision to stay true to Caleb despite what he knew as a player during the episode at the Sanatorium nearly got the whole party arrested by Ikithon, forced Jester and Veth’s family to go on the run, and literally got Veth’s son KILLED, and people praised him up and down for his commitment to Caleb and his acting (which was of course well deserved he was incredible).

But when Marisha stayed true to character when Keyleth confronted Raishan in Whitestone after Raishan killed nearly an entire TRIBE of her people, people lost their fucking shit at Marisha for putting the party at risk like that. Despite the fact that those same people had spent like an entire year shitting on Marisha for “metagaming” and for not sticking to character (which was always bullshit), and then when she did exactly the thing they had been complaining she WASNT doing, they threw tantrums over basically her…not metagaming and playing her character well?

There was never a time where I thought any of the criticism being levied against Marisha was legitimate, but I remember watching that episode in C2 and just feeling this deep, seething anger over the massive hypocrisy in that moment. Marisha has always deserved better.

#Marisha ray #keyleth #genuinely I could go on for a long time over how I think Marisha is just incredible #and how she is so unafraid to play deeply flawed characters #and to really play into their flaws #and how people seem to hate flawed women but love flawed men #but that’s a different post #not tagging this cr because I don’t want to hear it lmao

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cringefaecompilation · 2 months

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Hope you don’t mind me coming in here and you can delete this if you want. I just want to express something.

One thing I’ve noticed about this whole thing is, when Brennan made a post about Palestine everyone praised and rooted for him, and when Matt makes a post everyone hates him and mocks him. Yes matt brought up his mental health and (from my recollection) Brennan didn’t, but what does that have to do with anything? He (matt) wasn’t making it about himself. CRF donate 25k each 50k in total and explicitly called for ceasefire that should have been enough. Matt said him and Marisha have donated 15k of their OWN money, that sould have been enough. And yes they (cr and matt) have done it a bit clumsily but they still donated and called for ceasefire. That should be enough. Sure, they should have done it earlier but they have now. And yes they could do more but they have already done more than Taylor Swift who is a fucking billionaire. Cr (company and cast) is damned if they do and damned if they don’t. I don’t ever see that changing.

i'd be remiss not to mention it also took dropout months to do something and start a charity auction despite them talking about the SAG-AFTRA strike day one and being dismissive about the massacre in their discord for a bit before adding a channel to aid palestine. it's great that brennan made a post of his own volition but he is just an employee. brennan does not speak for the entire company. sam reich does and it sucks that they chose to stay silent for this long when many people that worked for him were doing the work on their own.

cr and matt have been known to fumble quite a bit with important matters and it's quite literally nothing worth more than an eyeroll and a "at least they're doing something" and not a giant angry speech about how they're a terrible selfish scumbag. anything else is just an internet dick measuring contest. you can be upset about it, but if it's not something like with taika waititi, i don't think it's worth threatening to stop supporting them.

but also i really don't like that whenever someone blows something out of proportion that their favorite celeb isn't doing anything to help, my dash is inundated with posts to the tune of "every single person that talks about wanting celebrities to aid palestine is a whiny white kid trying to play hero, every single last one of them! all of them are white kids with white savior complexes that think retweeting pictures of dead bodies makes them the world's most progressive white person!"

i don't think that helps either. i can also understand also being annoyed at people who traumatize themselves and shame anyone for not doing the same, but there's got to be a balance and unfortunately more people want to "win the argument" so to speak than to step back and wonder if what they're doing is actually helping.

#🍃

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loquaciousquark · 2 years

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4-Sided Dive Highlights - Critical Role C3E24 - Calamity (July 5, 2022)

Tonight’s guests: Laura, Ashley, Aabria, and Marisha! I didn’t realize how tall Aabria was until we saw her sitting next to Sam in Calamity, and standing next to Laura and a seated Marisha/Ashley, I am impressed anew at her height. Laura is devastated to land host and immediately butchers the pronunciation of “Laerryn”, which is very funny. Also Omar is here wearing a harness, and he’s beautiful!

What the Fuck is Up With That? Laura & Marisha are so sad about Imogen & Laudna’s busted friendship. It was heartbreaking in the moment and they both clung to each other after, while also being pleased at the drama. Imogen is baldly jealous of Laudna’s friendship with Dusk. Aabria: “What’s more girlboss than getting a drastic haircut after a bad breakup?”

There’s an inset Omar cam of a crew member (?) playing with Omar, which is ADORABLE.

Everyone laughs at Ashley’s huge reactions and dropped jaw during the Imogen/Laudna fight. They inset the relevant clip! That’s so nice! Laura remembers big reactions to Vax and Keyleth.

Marisha was trying to listen to Matt in this scene as he portrayed Delilah, trying to glean clues through his dialogue, only to still be blindsided by Delilah’s evilness. “You lied” made Aabria’s whole body hurt. Marisha hates friend/friend conflict but is totally onboard with stranger conflict. She could feel that “burning in the back of my head” to fix this immediately. Laura had to fight her natural reaction of, “It’s fine, it’s fine, I know you didn’t mean to!”

Calamity! Aabria loves that everything we know in Tal’Dorei is technically a post-apocalyptic world. Marisha likes that this previously amorphous conflict now has real grounding. Ashley loved how advanced the tech was.

Laura: “Can we talk about Brennan’s jamming?” Aabria: “Can we? That monster.” Lots of praise for style and lamenting from Laura that she didn’t get to play with him.

When they originally sat down to plan Calamity, Laura was going to play a wizard with a very specific place in the city. Due to scheduling conflicts, she wasn’t able to, and Marisha took the concept and ran with it. “Everything after that was you.” Marisha talks about it almost being a Sam/Liam situation where Laura planted her character seed & Marisha made it real. It gave Marisha a good excuse to not get in the weeds with class selection.

Aabria loved that the brief of “you must play a high-status character” conflicted with the common ragtag band of nobodies many D&D groups start with. She decided to be That Engineer who’s responsible for magnificent tech but never gets around to writing down how it’s accomplished, then has that knowledge lost in the apocalypse.

The lore document for Calamity was 8 pages long (not 20) and broken down by category, including important NPCs for each character. Matt apparently does the same thing for the main campaign; Taliesin and Sam have a “beefy doc” for Bassuras.

Marisha also felt that playing these hypercompetent characters compared to low-level shitkickers who have to learn to care gave her a new lens on the rest of her fellow players, who she feels were also playing at the absolute top of their game. She loved watching Aabria’s & Lou’s assertiveness in their strong, driven characters.

Aabria: In a normal campaign, Purvan Suul is the PC & the Calamity Crew are the NPCs you watch make terrible decisions. It’s not that “one bad wizard made a spicy choice and then everything got bad. No, an entire society bred people who reached too far, and here’s some of them. Even in their poor choices they were people and had moments and hesitations, but they never had that turn of faith or eye or thought at the right moment to stop it.”

Aabria treasured the chance to hook into both the past and future with Niirdal-Poc. She tried to focus on the group that could “hunker down” during the Calamity and extrapolate how they survived. She liked the freedom & less-preciousness of only having 16 hours to build a story instead of the 500-hour-stories of the main campaign.

Laura: what kind of apocalypse would everyone thrive in? Zombie, Children of Men... Aabria posits that a baby-less world wouldn’t be so bad. “Have you met a baby?” Laura, sadly: “I’ve met a baby!” Aabria: “The platonic ideal of a baby is a dog, but worse.” Ashley doesn’t want to live in an apocalyptic world where there’s a chance of turning into something else.

We discover part of the reason Aabria is so tall tonight is that she’s also wearing platform heels. Ha!

Tower of Inquiry! 41: what kind of plant would your characters be? Laerryn: “I have a pretty fiercely anti-plant agenda,” but settles on one of those futuristic LED plants. Laudna: Venus flytrap/pitcher plant. Imogen: a violet, little and purple and dies easily if treated wrong. Ashley: pilea peperomioides, Fearne: oleander, belladonna, nightshade. Patia: orchid. Ashley & Marisha discuss the difficulty of caring for orchids, and Marisha tells a story of her Kentucky dad rubbing mayo on her dying orchid’s leaves to save it. Ha!

Marisha pulls another block. 37: character’s go-to karaoke song. Laerryn: Fiona Apple’s “Criminal.” Fearne: “Kiss From a Rose.” Imogen: Eurythmics’s “Sweet Dreams.” Laudna: Fleetwood Mac’s “Sorcerer,” which she takes back immediately for “Break the Chain.” Aabria suggests “Bring Me to Life,” heh. Ashley complains that “evergreen” is the new “synergy.” Laura challenges us all to listen for it in our Zoom meetings.

The Deep Dive! Dani can’t pass out the tankards because Omar is fully asleep on her feet. It’s so stinking cute.

The skyship was cool for Imogen. “Gee willikers. I mean, it sure was pretty and the sky was nice, and she was not scared once it took off ‘cause then it was a smooth ride.”

Laerryn’s final moments? There was no better way for her arc to resolve than to avert the worst possible scenario and die in the arms of her husband and help Cerrit get out. That was the last possible victory. The entire dynamic between Loquatius (personal note, that name was very funny to listen to for four episodes) and Laerryn was entirely Sam’s idea. He’s been wanting to play a divorced character for years. Aabria was super nervous going into that dynamic in the character jam session since she didn’t know everyone else that well. Marisha liked that they were both right and both wrong & still had chemistry.

Marisha didn’t think she was really really dead the first time Patia died, but then “three hours in, I was like, ‘maybe I am really dead,’“ but then she wasn’t! She was proud to dedicate her final moments to the legacy of Avalir, Cerrit, and his daughter Maya. It was a good group moment of making sure one person survived.

Nana Mori Calloway, Fearne’s grandmother, was heavily inspired by Ashley’s mom, who’s very innocently mischievous. Ashley thought that was a good kernel for a fey-type character. Her mom is an amazing cook: prime rib, custards, cakes, pancakes, fried catfish, cookies--she tried to bring this in with Nana Mori’s pies and cooking. She’s the kind of grandma who paints masterpieces and doesn’t go to bed until 3:00AM.

Imogen feels okay about chasing Armand instead of learning about her powers; too much at once is already overwhelming. Laura doesn’t want to dive too deeply just yet.

Patia and Laerryn always had the dream of outshining the other cities, so the idea of interplanar travel was going to change the world to improve the city. Yes, she’d do it again. It was worth it. “There were gonna be Betrayers. It could have been worse! [The Primordials] seemed bad, and I stopped them, so you’re welcome, and if I could go back and do it again, I’d be even better at it. Laerryn’s learned nothing from this experience.”

Laudna does know that her patron is the same person who put her on the tree. She thinks of her almost like a ghost who can’t hurt her or do anything, just gives her her powers. Laudna’s been like this for thirty years and has grown flippant about it over the years. Aabria: “Is there a part of Laudna who likes what happened to her because it made her special?” Marisha, gasping: “Ooh, I don’t know! Maybe Laudna hasn’t even processed that yet. What the fuck, Aabria?” Laudna has accepted herself and gets a kick out of being weird.

Fearne’s chaos comes from Ashley’s mom & a love of practical jokes. She enjoys being able to do the first thing in her mind like Grog & Jester.

Omar joins us on the couch, then as the centerpiece to an endtable. What a cute pup.

Everyone loved Imogen’s reveal of the Fly spell. It was a very narrative introduction to a new spell.

In re: blighting the tree: nothing is more terrible than realizing as a player that This is Your Red Button that you have to smash to serve the story. “I’d kill it again.”

Laudna’s traveled on skyships before; that was fine. Marisha got emotional as a child learning about the loss of the Library of Alexandria, and that was her inspiration for preserving all her knowledge in the orb & sending it to Maya. “I sent the Library of Alexandria to a fourteen-year-old. It’s in your hands now. Hope this is fine.” Matt refuses to tell her what happened to it in the world.

Ashley picked the Wildfire class for Fearne because it made sense for the character, though she thinks Keyleth’s Circle of the Moon class is the best.

Tower of Inquiry, Redux: 21: Laerynn’s favorite part of Avalir is the idea of constantly reaching further. Aabria loves that they live above weather, which is hilarious. Marisha likes that Exandria is endless, and she loves how it’s grown with other DMs. It’s only more as time goes on. She’s been playing in Exandria for ten years and loves that she’s not tired of it. Laura loves that anything is possible in this world. Imogen’s favorite thing in the world: “Laudna.” Oh, my heart. Ashley loves Jrusar with the spires and bridges and Windowed Wall. Fearne is loving getting away from her glen. Marisha reveals the AC went out in the studio today. As someone who lost her own AC earlier this summer, God bless.

Laura picks 47: character cures for insomnia. Aabria: “Laerryn and Loquatius fuck but as our friends, just going through the Ring of Brass. They bang weird.” Marisha, cackling, fully out of the chair: “Oh my God! Changeling roleplay!” Imogen dives into other people’s dreams. Fearne messes up other people’s sleep out of curiosity. Laudna plays with dolls. Ashley LOVES Pâté. Pâté de Rolo the name came from a play on Percy de Rolo, but funnier because “dead” and “liver.” Sashimi & Escargot also came out of just the idea of naming something a very fancy word for a dead thing. There’s a very funny outro here where they don’t realize the cameras are still going and the producer offscreen has to cut them off for the break. Ha!

Cup of Questions: Beer pong with questions. It’s Laura’s first time ever playing, and Marisha laughs that this should be interesting since she’s super competitive.

Laura doesn’t remember her worst hair day ever, but she laments her Rachel hair cut in high school, which featured in her senior photo along with a red, white, and blue bustier. Ashley sometimes gets lost in Laura’s hair under the table spotlights, hahaha.

Laura is the kind of person to look at other people’s medicine cabinets. She would read people’s minds all the time if she could.

If Grey Griffin (the voice of Delilah in LoVM) was Laudna’s patron instead of Delilah, Marisha hopes she’d be granted with her amazing singing ability.

Ashley & Aabria are really destroying Laura & Marisha in this, haha. Omar & Pâté would have a lovely date in Malibu, with Pâté riding Omar’s back like a GoPro. They have to be home by 10pm because that’s coyote time.

Laura lucid dreams a lot.

Laura finally sinks one. If Chetney hadn’t overslept, “Fearne would have had a very good time with Chetney.”

Aabria would love to take her squad to the Feywild to party. If she could have one selfish machine, it would make her hair shiny like Laura’s.

If Laerynn & Patia were Thelma & Louiseing around the world, they’d go to Dubai, Singapore, Japan. A luxury tour. Patia would have them go visit Ashley in her stolen rainforest (see below).

Laura had no concept for Patia and loved what Marisha did with her. Her initial art concept (unnamed) had strawberry-blonde curls and lots of floating jewelry in her hair.

Brennan told the group he was going to kill them, and Aabria said he had to at least try. “One of my feats was Tough, and that gives you double your level in HP, so that was an extra 28 HP on top. And then I took Eldritch Initiate to grab Armor of Shadows, which gives you at-will Mage Armor. Mage Armor is an Abjuration spell, which means I can spam cast it without spending a spell slot to refill my Arcane Ward, so that was an extra 33 HP on top of that. Laerryn had effectively 175 HP. I built a brick shithouse wizard. Caleb, get good. Ahh!”

If Ashley could steal anything in the world, she’d pick a house by Frank Lloyd Wright or Rick Joy or Peter Zumthor, or a JMW painting. And then a rainforest to protect it.

Laudna is genuinely aware that she’s on borrowed time, because the worst thing has already happened to her. She’s living each day to its fullest.

Laerryn and Loquatius had a huge wedding & Quay invited everyone he’d ever met. It rained during their wedding and she had them leave it, since it never rains on Avalir.

Fearne’s “rats of the Feywild” was just Ashley trying to run contrary to her own opinions on fairies.

Laura gives an off-the-cuff eulogy for Bertrand as Vex. “Bertrand...what can one say about Bertrand. He was...Percy?”

Ashley wins beer pong for her team by cleanly sinking the last shot. GGs all around.

Marisha’s first crush was Josh Hartnett.

Ashley would cast Chris Pratt to voice Mister.

And on that note, Laura outros us out by sweeping up sadly the remnants of the 4th of July Party. A new song plays over the outro; is this a new theme song? It’s catchy!

That’s it! Is it Thursday yet?

#critical role #critical role spoilers #4 sided dive #4 sided dive spoilers #talks machina #long post for ts #exu calamity

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wastingoxygensince1983 · 1 year

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Again rewatching the mighty nein vs. Vox Machina fight.

And I don't know if it has to do with how in the dnd community people has throw shade to the monk classes but during this fight they are constantly praising monks and the abilities Beau has.

And in somehow the pivot of the fight are the abilities from Beau in some way(stunning strike is really broken when it works).

I don't know, but during my watch of campaign 2 I got really into monks. Even If I never played dnd before Marisha made it seems so cool. I even create a OC character connected with the cobalt soul and to Beau that I have the backstory already I just need to learn how the heck I make the stats part.

But yeah I wonder if these praise has something to do with that treatment the class is having(I even watched a dnd short video on youtube that explains it, which in my opinion was very good).

#critical role spoilers #critical role #vox machina #mighty nein #beauregard lionett #marisha ray #dnd #dnd monk

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grigori77 · 1 year

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Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 46

The episode is entitled "Night At the Ligament Manor." I haven't even pressed play yet and it's already deeply creepy ...

Sam doesn't play video games apparently. This should be interesting ... okay, what the hell is going on ... oh dear gods ... what the fu ... oh boy atrocious 8-bit graphics ... help ... dear gods ... that was awful and so funny I such a sad way ...

Matt's getting his teeth into this plug, clearly ... and he can't say "merchandise", apparently ... in fact he's forgotten how to talk entirely. XD

"We got STOOOOOFFF!"

TRINKET SLIPPERS!!! RIGHTEOUS!!!

Taliesin, no! Dear gods man ... such awful dad humour, you're better than this!

Oh yeah. The tiki bar ...

The place is infested with ... something. Oh boy ... bat things ... yeesh ... hope that doesn't become A THING ... oh, and snakes too. Lovely.

Cocktails? Ye gods ...

FCG fascinates Morri ... of course he does. AND she causes a sussurus in Imogen's head ...

Ashton's skull dome ... oh boy ... here we go. Oh ... so that might actually be a GOOD THING? How is that actually WORSE?!!!

Oh ... oh, that can't be at all sanitary. Are you seriously gonna drink that shit? Whoa, they actually are ...

Fuck ... is this shit like ABSINTHE?!!!

Holy fuck, they have NIGHTVISION NOW?!!!

Fearne is living her best life being reunited with Nana Morri is so disturbing already ...

Drinks on the veranda ... oh boy ...

Taliesin: "Oh THAT beginning ..." FCG: "And we mostly skip the last Thursday of every month ..."

Creep fucked up weird ass rabbit creature ... oh, Peepers? Aha, I see ... OF COURSE Laudna loves this thing.

Morri meets Mister ...

Marisha (to Ashley and Matt BOTH): "Did this shit come out of YOUR brain?"

Watching what? Really, watching WHAT?!!! O.O

I'm just watching Travis and our boy is REALLY creeped out by this whole situation and I love it ...

A sleepover ... oh, lovely ...

Morri: "Did he say anything about ME?" Oh boy ...

Fearne: "Okay, I'm gonna be real honest with Nana right now." Uh-oh, here we go ...

The machine has an actual PULL on Ruidus? That can't be good ... The Shiver Keep? Sounds perfectly fitting ...

Time ... Morri: "It is quite stretchy around here, isn't it?"

The Sun's Shadow Realm ... hmmm ... oh, THAT'S where The Shiver Keep is.

A flirtation? Morri: "I'm too much of a woman for a spindly thing like him." :3

The lens got broken, yes ... best not tell Morri WHO broke it, hmmmm?

The City on Ruidus ... the Mesh ... Predathos ... okay ... and she smells the wolf on Chetney ... "little wolf boy"? XD

Laudna's geeking out BIG TIME over all if Morri's craftsmanship ... I love it. Oh here we go, Morri meets Pate ... here we go ...

Pate: "That's a big lady!"

Pate's both endeared and thoroughly freaked out ... wow, even the undead flying rat finds Morri unsettling.

She says that Chetney has "the Trees' Gift". Hmmm ... interesting, he's actually FLATTERED by all this praise ... yup, she's totally won him over and it's WEIRD ...

Oh boy, the OTHER face ... fuuuuuuuuuck ... they have an "ARRANGEMENT" ... dear fuck ...

Oh, so Fearne is getting to the root of it now ...

Travis is totally freaking out over this new version of her ...

Fearne's bedroom? Really? Oh yes, we'd love to see that! Finally something a little LESS terrifying for a change maybe?

Crow's cages? Oh shit ...

Ashley taking over to describe the room herself ... chef's kiss! Oh wow ... lovely but in a really disturbing way ... she was in a cage when she was in here? Hmmm ...

What's the view? Ooooh ... that sounds LOVELY actually ... aaaaaaaah! Ruidus? Wait .. HOW close?

Super icky arts and crafts ...

Chetney jhmps into Fearne's bed ... Fearne: "It's super soft, it's like a cloud." Imogen: "The cloud of dust that came up when you jumped in ..."

Fearne would not steal from Morri because she "respects her elders" ... hmmm ...

"Tummy Nana's a little more strict." Dear gods ...

The Collection ... this sounds potentially HORRIFYING ...

Group Persuasion Check ... hmmmm ... FUCK!!! How the hell did EVERYBODY roll so good? O.O

Yes. This Collection is EVERY BIT the nightmare fuel I was expecting it to be ...

Imogen: "MAYBE someday Fearne your collection could be as vast as this." Fearne: "Boy, I hope so!"

A gift? What? What fresh hell is this?

The statue ... oh, here we go ... what is THIS gonna become? Oh of course ... yeah, that's just horrible ... and even the statue can't quite manage this nightmare ... oh, and the second face starts to BREAK IT ...

The Heart of the Lion Guard? Taliesin: "Oh please let this be a real heart." Aaaaaaand it really is, too ... fuck ...

And she pokes it. Of course she does ...

Ashton ASKS HER to poke his head again ... whoa ... IT HURTS HER? WORRIES HER? WHAT THE FUCK?!!!

Ashton rages to get a timeshift surge ... HYPER RAGE?!!! 160 feet in one round? FUUUUUUCK ...

Taliesin's flattered by Sam's flask snd I don't blame him in the slightest.

The Bloody Apron ... yeah, figured she'd appreciate THAT twisted shit ...

The Undermuck ... yeah ... really NOOOOOO ...

Above the canopy ... oh, now THIS sounds BEAUTIFUL. How the hell is THIS here in this horrorshow?

The flowers ooh and aah ... and so do the group. XD OF course ...

They're definitely plants ... Laura: "They're definitely people who were turned into plants." Yes. Yes they are ... oh, so FEARNE made these? Oh thank the gods ... they're NOT actually murder topiary?

Ashley rolls 29 for persuasion and so we are TOTALLY CONVINCED that she's telling the truth ...

Sweet Pea? A massive rotund SUNBEAR?!!! Oh my gods ... and he's adorable ... yeah, I know sunbears and they are the cutest things ever ... :3

What IS the thumping noise?

Orym tries to hear if it's a heartbeat from the bushes ... yeah ... Imogen is right, BEST NOT to know ...

It's the Feywild, animals TALK here, guys ...

"Oh, my oats!"

Feycation ... they really went there ...

Ashley's face the whole time whenever Matt's describing what Fearne grew up with is just SO PRECIOUS, I love it so much ... :3

BIG ROOM!!! Oh, these beds sound SO NICE ... and the paint ... yeah. If that ISN'T dried blood I'll be very surprised ...

Imogen (internally screaming): "Such a tranquil environment for sleeping." FCG: "I'm sensing a theme here."

Oh yeah ... the Reilora ... yeah ...

Orym (to Ashton): "You're ALWAYS a little stoned." Oh, the death stares ... XD

Chetney volunteers to massage Imogen to soothe her before sleep ... yeah, no, Laudna would DEFINITELY be more soothing for her than anything else, surely.

ORYM CONJURES A FUCKING FLOWER IN HIS HAND!!! When the fuck did he learn to do that?

Orym: "Okay, before we go full Flatliners ..." XD Cue geeky chuckling from the group as a whole.

Yeah, clearly Laudna is still DEEPLY relieved that Imogen came through the whole Da'leth encounter safely.

"I mean, they make some good points, right?" Oh fuck, Imogen, no, DO NOT go there ...

Ashton: "If somebody's a piece of shit then they're a bad person whether they have a good point of view or not." AMEN, bud.

Now Chetney's FOUR hundred years old ... XD

Imogen: "Ludinus talked sbout the Calamity like he saw it first hand." Chetney: "Yeah, he likes to SAY that."

Yes, good point, makes more sense that Ludinus actually wants to EXPLOIT Predathos rather than just unleash it ...

80 to 100 flowers now ... awwwwwww ...:3

FCG casts Shared Dream ... okay ... here we go ... and they're bringing Lsufna into Imogen's dream too ...

The spell takes effect and in we go to the dream ... oooooooh ... and it's starting to get red ... Matt: "And that's where we're gonna take a break!" GAH!!!!!

Nott the Brave: "He's MY boy. I protect HIM." Oh boy ... I'm SO PUMPED for the Mighty Nein animated series ...

And we're back ...

FCG and Laudna are ORBS. They're funky floating orbs. That's disturbingly cute ... and they can TALK. Kind of ...

Laura just got a red circle on her Smart watch. Travis: "Fuck off, Predathos!"

The lighting in the studio's gone all red! Yeah, here we go!

Marisha and Sam both doing wibbly-wobbly hand motions as they pretend to be wafty orbs is so cute ... XD

Perception checks at DISADVANTAGE ... ah ...

Ruidus looks like it's ACTUALLY an opening? That's not like ... foreboding at all ... oh shit, it IS ... yeah, that's about right ...

Imogen tries to communicate with her mother and Matt just makes her roll a D20 ... yeah, that can't be a good sign ...

Into the dust storm ... structures being built around a deep pit ... hmmm ... Imogen descends into it and it DRAWS HER IN ... another deeply worrying sign ...

This used to be a city but it's a ruinous mess ... and there's a massive tower ... with a BIG TELESCOPE device! Aaaaaaah!

IMOGEN'S MUM!!! She's there! She goes to her ...

"You shouldn't be here." Matt: "Make a Wisdom saving throw." SHIT!!!

Boom, Imogen and FCG are gone ... but Laudna's still there! So she's going to try to communicate with Imogen? Whoa ... how's this gonna work?

It's not, clearly ... and now she's stuck. Hmmm ...

Phew! She's back ... oof ... THAT could have been really bad ... and now Laudna's got a point of exhaustion despite the fact she slept? SERIOUSLY?!!!

Oh, but it's still the evening. That's not so bad, then ...

Oh, good point ... COULD Imogen hurt Ludinus or Otohan like this?

FCG: "I don't think you would ever want Chetney in your dreams."

GO TO SLEEP!!! Good ...

Morning comes ... and FCG us going to bake something in himself. Here we go ... biscuits! For breakfast! Lovely! :3

FCG gives everyone who eats them THREE TEMPORARY HIT POINTS?!!! That is AWESOME!!!

Chetney is NAKED. "This is the Fey Realm. I don't wanna offend the trees." Imogen: "With your wood?" Fearne: "Your MORNING wood?"

Laudna is IMPRESSED with Imogen's mum and her "big boss energy". XD

Yes. Hug the sunbear. You may never get to see him again.

Travis' painfully dated Internet yoof slang ... XD

Morri's morning greeting is as horrifying as I expected it to be ...

Wait ... is Morri giving them LOTHLORIEN STYLE STEALTH CLOAKS?!!!

So this is goodbye to Morri then ...

Left of the moon in the sky ... a gateway home ... hmmm ...

THE IRON TIDE?!!! Yeah, that's totally blood. I mean c'mon ...

So they ARE Fearne's parents. At least she has that.

Oh, here we go ... THE TRUTH. Is this gonna hurt as much as I think it will?

Oh shit ... so the Unseelie who tried to come for Fearne aren't the topiary people ... yeah ... so that's not QUITE so bad, I suppose.

It's interesting ... there's a kind of gentle sweetness to Morri sometimes, especially with Fearne. Even monsters can love, after all ...

Ah, the guidance for the return journey. Oh ... well that's just CHARMING ...

Sam: "Jizz?" Oh for the love of ...

Oh yes, one should ALWAYS be polite to creepy arse Fey things ...

So if things go horribly wrong they can ALL stay here with Fearne. And Chetney is once again DEEPLY creeped out again. As is Travis ...

And they're off, out into the wild once more.

Whoa ... two INSANELY great rolls ...

The boon biscuits are ... nice ... Imogen tastes too much ginger. There IS no ginger in the recipe. Okay ...

Creepy noises ... TINY VOICES?!!!

Oh shit WHAT THE FUCK?!!!

Oh, it's Doctor Nesbitt. Okay then ... freaky weird thing, totally ... but also kinda sweet, they seem like ... ah, so they're gonna help out. This should be interesting.

Mister's got a gun! Eek! Oh yeah, these two DO NOT like each other, clearly.

A doctor of conversation and companionship. Hmm ...

Oh yeah, Shithead.

Oh my gods I love Doctor Nesbitt so much. Matt is clearly having SO MUCH FUN with this character. XD

Fearne is clearly worried about Doctor Nesbitt's safety and so sends him away ... okay ... but at least he takes it in good spirits. It's for the best ...

The ground is HUNGRY. Ewwww ...

Aha ... Ruidus is on the rise ... and it's SMALLER? For real? Hmmmm ...

Pass Without A Trace? Or maybe not ... yeah, maybe save that.

Sam: "I know, it said 'come on the base'." Oh for the gods' sake, Sam!

Massive horses? What is this?

Time to hide! And FCG tanks his stealth ... fungus puffball pops on him and HE'S BURNED?!!! And now whatever's coming knows they're there?

HOLY SHIT!!! Matt Mercer are you KIDDING ME?!!! Are these seriously giant fucking centaurs?

Sam: "I'll Tongue myself." And now he can speak and understand Elven. In a really dirty way ...

AND now everybody's been rumbled. Hands up!

"Tie them all up." Uh-oh ...

Fuck ... yeah, they're totally soldiers of the Unseelie Court. This is NOT GOOD.

Laura, roll a D20 ... 14? Hmm ... oh shit, it just got do much worse.

FCG: "They're HORSES!!!" Everybody LOSES IT. XD

Oh, here we go ... time to rumble, then ...

Imogen: "Don't! Just ... DON'T!!!" Matt: "So for the next round, you want them to DON'T." XD

Well they are frozen now ... RUN!!! Yes, run. Good idea ...

Oh okay, so they're gonna fight. Well they do have a round to hit first, so ...

NICE MAP!!! With the big "poof plant" ... XD

And they're still debating if these guys are ACTUALLY Unseelie or not ...

Surrender or fight? C'mon guys, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Travis: "Analysis Paralysis! Somebody do something!"

Okay, so we're rumbling! ROLL FOR INITIATIVE!!!

And Fearne has entangled two of them. So only one can actually MOVE on their next turn. NICE.

Bane!

FCG's Spiritual Weapon is ... a giant STIRRUP?!!! Sam Riegel, learn your horse livery! A giant SPUR!!! Better ...

Turmoil! Sweet! Chetney casts SHATTER?!!! Oooooh ... 21 point of Thunder damage! Nice!

Ashton fires up a Rage ... "Oh yeah, I'm a big ol' rainbow of Possibility!" Natural 20! Ouch ... oh yeah, Taliesin is gonna FUCK THIS POOR BASTARD UP!!! 24 bludgeoning damage, 12 Psychic damage and they're thrown FAR into thd undergrowth ... and that guy is UNCONSCIOUS!!! Beautiful ...

Dissonant Whispers ... and they BOTH roll Nat 1s! Holy fuck! The one that can move immediately BOOKS IT as far away as possible!

NOW it's time to roll initiative! Okay, NOW here we go!

Fire of Crimson Rite! Ouch! Chetney you EVIL MAN!!! I love it. 20 points of damage on the Psycho Tree!

Centaurs' turn! Eep! So one just runs away while the other, still restrained ... BREAKS FREE!!! HD books it too ... but both fire while they run!

Dreadful Misfortune? Ooooooh ... and OUCH!!!

Imogen is now SHOT with a massive longbow arrow in the hip! Fuck ...

Orym's Goading attack! And an Action Surge! Hooo ...

FCG spurs the shit outta the tree. "With the stirrup?" XD And Sacred Flame! This tree is getting FUCKED UP!!!

"That's a very CALM Reckless." Ashton gets the HDYWTDT on the tree. AND he smashes one of the remaining centaurs in the face, smashes his nose and KNOCKS HIM THE FUCK OUT!!!

Three way attack ... "Cross the streams!"

Oh boy, this is gonna HURT. And Ashley doesn't wanna kill this one anymore than Laura does ... oh boy ...

65 points of damage ... yeah, HOW DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS. Yeah, this poor bastard is a CORPSE.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure ... yeah, this last poor centaur just disintegrates in the distance from the waist up ...

Taliesin: "Wait, I've always wanted to know if centaurs have pockets." Oooh, loot!

Yup, these guys aren't Unseelie but they ARE bounty hunters. So not so bad.

Imogen is now PUKING UP WEIRD FOG for the next hour. Random magic side effects are so funny ... XD

Okay, out of the swamp, then ...

Matt: "And that's where we're gonna call it a night."

SIGN OFF THE NIGHT, Ashley! Okay, what ...

HOLY FUCK ... Ashley's mum made this FYCKING AWESOME model of Morri's house! Sweet!

#critical role #crit role campaign 3 #campaign 3 spoilers #campaign 3 episode 46 #matt mercer #marisha ray #laudna #travis willingham #chetney pock o'pea #laura bailey #imogen temult #liam o'brien #orym of the air ashari #ashley johnson #fearne calloway #taliesin jaffe #ashton greymoore #sam riegel #fresh cut grass

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samuraiko · 2 years

Text

C3E37 episode feelings (SPOILERS AHOY)

(YOU KNOW THE DRILL BY NOW)

(LIKE SERIOUSLY DO I REALLY NEED TO SAY THIS AGAIN)

(ABANDON ALL BITCHING, YE WHO ENTER HERE)

What.

An.

EPISODE!

Oh my gods... from the DARK CITY vibes of the shadow of Whitestone (FYI, if you have never seen DARK CITY, you absolutely should, it’s a fantastic film) to those bittersweet glimpses into Laudna’s life in Whitestone. The whole thing had this nightmarishly disjointed feeling that was just so well-suited for what was going on, and that’s BEFORE shit got real!

Oh wow. The bargaining. The threatening. The all-too-brief hope spot of Marisha... and then, THEN we get that whoooooooooole clusterfuck at the nega-Sun Tree.

And *EVEN* with them missing out on a much-needed short rest, *EVEN* with dice rolls going against them like 75% of the time (although PRAISE THE GODS AND ALL THE SAINTS that the Catha die was there for Orym when he really needed it), *EVEN* with two party members getting bampfed into the ether (and no real certainty that they would wake up afterward)...

... even with *ALL* of that...

... they STILL pulled off the most abso-fucking-lutely skin-of-their-teeth this-is-one-for-the-annals-of-history battles in all of Critical Role.

AND THEN FUCKING MATTHEW MERCER CALLS THE FUCKING EPISODE THERE?!

Anyway.

Moments that just absolutely did it for me because I always notice these things.

The absolute trainwreck of an intro that STARTS the episode. One for the ages.

THE NEW LOGO! I LOVE IT! PUT THAT ON A T-SHIRT SO I CAN BUY IT!

Mad props to Liam, Taliesin, and Travis especially for such perfectly in-character EMOTIONAL reactions to everything. Orym *begging* Laudna to walk in the sun with them one more time. Ashton desperately trying to convince Imogen not to waste time on what can’t be changed and to focus on what CAN. Chetney once again pulling out the Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass side of his personality.

And seeing the three dads at the table reflexively CRINGING when Delilah made that “do you know what I do to children” comment. (Especially Liam.) Oh... I felt that through my computer monitor.

Fearne and Imogen trying frantically not to panic as Delilah starts chasing them down. (Though I swear to Christ, Laura, you do that high-pitched obnoxious squeal one more time and I will reach through the internet and slam you upside the head with your own dice bag, which probably does at least 3d8 bludgeoning damage. Sorry, but when you have hearing problems to begin with, that was almost KAFOOM INSTANT MIGRAINE.)

The looks of utter LOATHING on all of the cast’s faces when Delilah opens her mouth.

(Contrasted by the cast’s looks of utter GLEE when Matt comes out with the map.)

#critical role #campaign 3 #bells hells #cr spoilers #critical role spoilers

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skygal-178 · 1 year

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IMOGEN & LAUDNA ORIGINS

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A story of two complete strangers and the strong bond that blossoms between them!

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artwork by @shadydruid characters by laura bailey and marisha ray from @criticalrole

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Four mugs of tea later Imogen had dozed off, falling asleep on the chair she was sitting in.

Waking up the next morning feeling surprisingly warm and cozy. Her eyes flutter open as the scent of fresh coffee hits her nose. “Mmmh, that smells so good.” Imogen states, now noticing the blankets she doesn’t remember having last night. “Oh.. good morning. Yeah, I thought you’d might be cold, so I pulled a blanket over you.” Laudna turns to Imogen as she speaks up. A thankful smile on Imogen’s face. “That’s really sweet thank you.” “The least I could do for saving me yesterday.” There’s a pause, as Laudna looks down at the ground. “No one has ever done anything like that for me.. not in a long time.” Imogen walks over, pouring herself some coffee into the same mug from the night before. “Glad I could help.” “Uhm, here I got some croissants for us.” Laudna hand one to Imogen. “Don’t worry I left some coin in their place.” She quickly adds. Imogen replies with another kind smile, as She does. The ladies sit back down in the chairs, enjoying their small but delicious breakfast.

“So when will you be leaving?” Imogen suddenly asks. “I want to find some food for the road and head out today, preferably as soon as possible. I’d like to make some distance before nightfall.” Imogen takes a moment to think. This could be a chance to find out more about herself, her powers, maybe even about her mother. “Could you wait for just a bit longer? I might have things at the farm you could use.” Laudna nods. With that Imogen quickly finishes her coffee and heads off on Flora, back to the farm.

It’s still early, but Samuel is already hard at work in the stables. Luckily for Imogen her father is nowhere in sight so far. “Imogen, where have you been. You’re dad sai-“ “Shh. Please keep it down.” She interrupts him. Imogen hands him Flora’s reins. “Sam, I’m leaving. Will you take care of them for me?” She asks, getting serious and a bit rushed. “Of course, always.” Sam nods, doing his best to hide his smile. He knows Imogen is not living the life she should here, so hearing those words is like the Gods praise. “Be a good girl, I will miss you.” Imogen gives Flora a last kiss between her eyes and a quick scratch on her snout. Sam goes in for a hug wishing Imogen good luck and safe travels.

Rushing to the shack, where Imogen grabs a blanket, a tarp, some rations and a brown leather harness set. Strapping the leg harness around her thigh, peaking out from underneath her ocean blue dress. Putting on the torso harness over her white vest, that she wears over the dress. Attaching a small pouch, with the supplies and rations, on the side and slinging the blanket wrapped in the tarp around her torso resting on her back. She’s ready to go.

Back at the cabin, Laudna has packed up her stuff already and is waiting for Imogen’s return. “I’m back.” Imogen announces herself, making Laudna turn around to face Imogen slightly surprised by the absence of a horse. “Oh hey. Did you find what you wanted to grab?” She asks a cheerfulness to her voice. “I did, yeah. I brought food and some supplies for camping out.” Imogen steps forward holding out a second pouch with rations to Laudna. “Oh thank you, you know you really didn’t have to. I don’t want to get you in any trouble, the people in town don’t seem that forgiving.” She takes the pouch from Imogen and ties it to her belt. “And.. also I brought myself.” Imogen states, waiting and looking for a response. “Yes, I can see that, you’re standing right in front of me.” Laudna chuckles, not really getting what Imogen means. Imogen lets out a quiet laugh herself. “No, I mean I’m coming with you.” She explains. “Oh! Right!” “If that’s alright-“ Before Imogen can finish her sentence Laudna buts in. “Yes! I mean, I’d love a travel companion.” The ladies share a big smile.

Just a couple hours later they’re well on their way. Walking side by side Eastward through the Taloned Highlands and the Gloomed Jungles of Aeshanadoor. Setting up camp for the night as the sun is setting. “I’m gonna scramble some wood for a fire.” Laudna walks getting a nog from Imogen, who continues looking for a big branch to set up a tipi-tent with the tarp she had brought. Laudna returns with a pile of thinner and thicker branches for a campfire. They immediately settle underneath their blankets, with their waterskins and bread with some fruits Imogen had brought from the farm.

There’s a moment of quiet where Imogen is thinking about her decision of leaving home. But there are no regrets there, just a sense of the unknown and even a bit of freedom bubbling within her. Laudna immediately notices, and recognizes, the look on Imogen’s face as she’s just sitting there thinking to herself. “Uhm.. Are you alright?” Laudna suddenly asks, feeling a bit guilty of taking Imogen away from her home and her family. “Mmh.. Oh yeah, I’m fine.” “Are you sure, cause you look a bit.. sad..” Laudna pauses for a moment, glancing down to her side. “Do you want to meet someone?” She looks back up to Imogen, while her hand is untying something from her hip. “Sure, is somebody coming here?” Imogen instinctively looks around for any sign of movement or approaching figure. Giving Laudna the perfect chance to take out her friend. “This is Pâté!” She states excitedly, holding up a puppet made from a dead rat’s body with a raven’s skull affixed to it. Laudna moves it around with a set of magical-looking strings. Taking Imogen completely by surprise. “Oh wow. Uhm, well hello there.. Pâté.” “Hi! Who’s your new fine-looking friend?” ‘Pâté’ speaks, through Laudna, with an almost Cockney-sounding accent. As Laudna moves him a bit closer to Imogen, in an attempted flirty way. “Ah Pâté! I told to behave! This is Imogen, she’s gonna join us on our big adventure. So be nice, please!” Laudna parents him, moving him up and down as he ‘speaks’. The whole ordeal making Imogen chuckle, declaring Laudna’s attempt at cheering her up a success.

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next chapter

#critical role #imogen temult #laudna #pate de rolo #fanfiction #origin story

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samcarter34 · 2 years

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As a new Critter is it possible to elaborate on the Liam's characters flirting with guys and it being equal and opposite of what they do to Laura?

There’s a lot of people in the critrole fandom who like to deny player agency (i.e. that the players are the ones making their characters do things) when it’s convenient for them, especially in the context of shipping.

With regards to Liam, like I said in the last post, people straight up act like he had nothing to do with Vax’ildan’s feelings for Gilmore or Caleb’s feelings for Essek. You see people praising Matt for making Shadowgast canon, and then acting like Liam had to get bullied into it. Vax and Caleb are his characters, they only reason they’re interested in men is because he wants them to be. But people don’t like Liam so they ignore that.

Conversely, people love Laura (or at least they claim to, I’m convinced a bunch of them just treat her like a self-insert), but the second she does something they don’t like, they do the exact same thing: they refuse to acknowledge that her characters do the things she wants them to.

Take the reaction to Beaujester not happening. Beaujester didn’t happen because Marisha and/or Laura didn’t want it to. The way the fandom reacted (and oh the fandom reaction is it’s own whole thing, which I am still dumbfounded by) Laura got pressured into not pursuing Beau so that Jester could be romantically available to Fjord and Caleb. Similar thing happened when Jester and Fjord got together, people acting like she got forced into it.

So it’s equal in that both Liam and Laura have people pretending that they aren’t their characters players the second it’s inconvenient to acknowledge it, but it’s opposite because they try to make Liam out to be the bad guy, while everything Laura does that they don’t like is someone else’s fault. And honestly, that’s not a benefit to Laura, like I said above I think people treat her more like a self insert than an actual person at the table.

#critical role #cr discourse #see also why Laura can look at Marisha and people scream ‘gay right’ while Liam can have a full relationship with a man and get accused of #queerbaiting #I’ve seen people saying no one to stop Laura & Marisha from romancing this time #about Laudna and Imogen and…no one prevented them last time either

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thechekhov · 3 years

Photo

Critical Role Deadblog time.

Yes, it’s true. I’ve done it. I’ve watched all of Critical Role’s first campaign. All 115 episodes, and then some. As a tribute, I may as well dump my thoughts here, for anyone who’s interested in reading them. Spoilers ahead, obviously.

It’s called a deadblog because initially I was going to do a liveblog, but as soon as I announced how excited I was to give it a go, I got about 30 people barging into my askbox going “NOOO, DON’T WATCH CR, WATCH/LISTEN TO THIS OTHER TTRPG REAL PLAY PODCAST INSTEAD, IT’S SO MUCH BETTEEERRRRRR”

Which. Immediately put me in a bad mood, because I did NOT ask for suggestions on what to watch, and out of spite and spite alone I decided to watch CR anyway.

(Yes, it’s petty. I know.)

To make it clear, I am fully aware that Critical Role, despite its popularity, has tons of issues. I noticed them myself, I winced in multiple places, and I’m in general agreement that it’s by no means perfect.

Nevertheless, it was a thoroughly entertaining affair, and I think it stands on its own, and I still really enjoyed watching it.

Instead of doing a complete writeup of the story, I think I’ll do a writeup of the characters - because after all, with a cast full of actors and voice actors, they are an integral part of this experience.

[Description: Image of Keyleth from CR with her short hair whipping behind her, clutching her staff and looking worriedly straight ahead.]

Kind of shocked by the amount of vitriol I’ve seen in the YouTube comments about this character, and all of it just made me like her more. She was definitely the least gritty of the group, but overall, I loved her storyarc. I think Marisha nailed it when she mentioned that overall, Keyleth’s growth has been the most gradual of them all. It was actually really neat, because by the end of the Vecna arc she was making good decisions while still having her bumbling moments which, in my opinion, is a lot more interesting to watch than just ‘perfect, flawless, strategic gameplay’.

I am also really side-eyeing all the people praising Travis for ADHD rep while ignoring the fact that Marisha, who is also clearly a bit distracted with taking notes/discussing stuff with Taliesin gets the short end of the stick when she isn’t paying perfect attention. All of them do it at various points throughout the series, but it all kind of falls on her.

[Description: Image of Percival from CR resting a gun on his shoulder, with clouds of smoke billowing past him as he stares straight ahead.]

He’s definitely a fun one, and I found it hilarious that Taliesin always spoke of Percy more poorly than he played him. Despite always painting Percy as the silent asshole with anger issues, outwardly he was always just a hurt child who was shouldering shit-tons of trauma and poor decisions and doing his best to pretend he wasn’t shaking under the strain. The anime protag here is, obviously, off the charts, and I also appreciated the fact that Taliesin managed to tie in the fact that his invention was always a dark part of his life and something he created out of pain, not ingenuity. The metaphor of the fact that his creations had a tendency to backfire and literally explode in his face was a nice touch.

[Description: Image of Scanlan from CR, smiling but with tears in his eyes, a whirl of magic between his two hands as he looks onward.]

Scanlan, Scanlan, Scanlan... I waited with baited breath for the day that everyone told me would surely come... the day when you would be less annoying.... alas, it never came. I think I’m probably alone in this, but Scanlan’s grating sexual harassment, as much as it faded after his arc, was nevertheless replaced with other grating qualities, such as disregarding the emotional needs of others while making dramatics when it came to his own. Scenes like the penultimate discovery of Kaylee’s body were touching, but tasted burnt when he insisted on continuing his gag of ‘who cares about Vex and Vax’s sister who’s dead, casualties of war, etc’.

I think Sam’s brilliant improv acting drove Scanlan to be far more likable than he would be in anyone else’s hands. The wit and brilliance of his abilities in battle soothed what would be an otherwise grating personality that only Vox Machina could love. Then again, perhaps that’s the point...

[Description: Image of Pike from CR, her hands clasped together and her eyes shut. Two white wings unfurl behind her.]

Shocked how little we saw of her, and genuinely disappointed that we couldn’t have more. I loved Pike’s adorable sunniness contrasted by her more genuine “Aren’t You Tired of Being Nice, Don’t You Just Want to Go Apeshit” streak that sometimes shone through the cracks. I think the arc with her and her family was absolutely brilliant, and she is way more than just a nice ball of heals for the party. I wish we could have had more of her in the games, because I anticipate that her chaotic nature would have brought tons of nuance to the table, and would perhaps even counterbalance Scanlan being an asshat a fair bit.

[Description: Image of Vex from CR in her white dragon hide armor, looking straight ahead as the light shines down on her.]

Ended up loving Vex way more than I anticipated. I think initially I expected her to be simple, vixen-like and shallow, and that’s on me. She was actually quite a complex character, and her constant bickering with her brother helped endear her to me. Not to mention the fact that she managed to tie in her obsession with gold into her and Vax’s struggle to be accepted into elven society. I think her dragging Trinket about is double hilarious, although I admit I kind of shared Scanlan’s frustration with how useless he ended up being. That’s not his fault though.

[Description: Image of Vax from CR, heavily in shade except from the light coming from below, looking grimly ahead.]

Ahhh, the beautiful emo boy.... I honestly didn’t like Vax until later in the series, when he stops moping around and finds a purpose. I think Liam nailed it when he said that, had Vax been accepted by the elves, he would have just become a common foot soldier without much drive to do anything. Vax strikes me as one of those people who need a direction, a leader, or something, which is why I think it’s endearing that he planned to essentially retire to be Keyleth’s guard dog, until fate knocked on their door.

Also, dumbass bisexual, 10/10, absolutely relate to him walking into the bedroom of Lord and Lady Briarwood and immediately falling back on hitting on both of them at the same time in an attempt to cover up for poor decision making.

(In general, I’m of the opinion that Team Half-Elf has maybe half a braincell between them, tops, and Vex has it 90% of the time. Percy has the other half of the braincell. Pike has confiscated both Scanlan and Grog’s only braincells for safekeeping.)

[Description: Image of Grog from CR, grinning and pulling a card from the Deck of Many Things while a dark void opens behind him.]

I’m probably with many people on this train, but Grog is genuinely a delight. I do like how he’s not a good person 50% of the time, and Travis never gives in to the thousands of simps and incel wannabes trying to get him to “admit” that he’s the smartest player. I actually think Travis is genuinely a smart guy, but he never lords it over the others, never takes advantage, and I really appreciated that. The entirety of Grog’s interactions with The Deck is also absolutely bloody brilliant, right down to the last episode. I don’t think there was a better way that could have ended.

And here we are, at the end, and you will perhaps notice that I never gave an answer to perhaps the most obvious question - who was my favorite character?

The answer is... Matthew Mercer.

It’s not a cop-out. I think the guy is an inspirational, story-driven and genuinely kind person I’ve seen in entertainment media for a while. He plays all of his NPCs, even the most hilariously voiced ones with empathy and depth that one would not expect out of most Player Characters. I think I can see how the Mathew Mercer effect took off, and it’s a pity he’s gotten the blunt of the hurt for it. He is clearly invested in the game, in the narrative, and in making his players all feel special and assuring they all have fun while keeping the stakes high.

I also dearly, dearly love Allura, Kima and Gilmore. Here’s some Kima and Allura doodles I did after I heard they got married.

I know the show isn’t The Best Thing Out There... but I enjoyed watching it. It’s given me about half a year of solid entertainment, has given me lots of ideas, and has inspired me into new projects.

I’ll be doing Campaign 2 eventually, once I get through all the one-shots, so keep your spoilers out of my askbox or else. :)

#critical role #critrole #cr1 #critical role 1 #vox machina #critical role vm #chekhov draws cr #chekhov draws critical role #chekhov draws vox machina #doodles

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